Does banning raise dead effects actually make the game more

[User3]

3e has been well known for trying lots of rules experiments. There really are three different versions of Flesh to Stone, and they all have different mechanics.

The lesson we have learned from these experiments this: if you have a spell or ability that does anything other than direct damage (like a penalty, status condition, or some other restriction), then you are better off doing that than doing anything else.

It doesn't matter if there is a save involved, or if some elaborate set up is required. Doing damage doesn't actually make anyone easier to kill, but just about every condition does.

The only balanced alternative is the "0 HPs from an effect then does something" like Disintigrate, but lets face it, when you can just cast Flesh to Stone, you don't use Disintigrate.

As long as we have save or dies, we need resurrection. (Though just cutting out a guy's tongue can prevent Raising, meaning only a much better caster needs to bring him back, and burning the body prevents anything but a Wish or True Res.).

PS. Warlocks can burst damage by combining with Empower Spell-like Ability with Maximise Spell-like ability with Quicken Spell-like Ability. Two Maximized, Empowered Eldritch Blasts a turn is a lot of damage.

[RandomCasualty]

1165436246[/unixtime]]
The lesson we have learned from these experiments this: if you have a spell or ability that does anything other than direct damage (like a penalty, status condition, or some other restriction), then you are better off doing that than doing anything else.

Well, i don't know about that. Status conditions are great and all, but the majority of them require saves and are usually all or nothing.

Also, fighting with save or dies effectively takes your fighter types out of the game. If you ever fight a creature with uber saves, you're in deep trouble, because if your save-or-dies fail, you have effectively wasted an action. Killing things by damage can sometimes be more reliable than constantly going for the grandslam attack.

I mean, yeah most of the time, save-or-die is the way to go, but there are times when you are effectively just throwing away actions by tossing save or dies, and you aren't actually synergizing with everyone else in the group.

[Essence]

The most effective form of synergy is having three casters throwing out different-saved SoD spells in the same round. Anything Fighter-types can come up with "synergize" with each other is pale nuts in comparison.

IMX, of course.

[RandomCasualty]

1165453177[/unixtime]]The most effective form of synergy is having three casters throwing out different-saved SoD spells in the same round. Anything Fighter-types can come up with "synergize" with each other is pale nuts in comparison.

IMX, of course.

Well sure, if you're playing an all caster party. But when you're doing that, the rules change a bit anyway.

[Username17]

Sword Attacks also don't always hit. It's just like a Saving Throw, yuou roll a d20 and sometimes nothing happens.

That's not "synnergistic", that's shit. Sword attacks are just a Save or Die where when the opponent fails a save absolutely nothing happens unless the same foe has already failed a save against the same bullshit effect several times before.

If there were some kind of wound penalties, maybe it would amount to something. As is, weapon attacks are the worst attacks in the game. They don't synergize, they suck ass.

-Username17

[Lago_AM3P]

Remember, the Cleric Archer is only good because he is arbitrarily immune to so many things. As in, most spells, most attacks of monsters, crowd tactics, etc..

While dishing out damage better than fighters is the definitive insult, there's a reason why the Cleric Archer attacks with bows instead of spells. Because they use bows with huge attack bonuses, they're arbitrarily outside of the range of a lot of things, including a lot of deadly spells.

There have been character builds out there that deal out more damage than Cleric Archers while keeping the same idea, but the reason why the Cleric Archer remains king is because they are arbitrarily immune to a lot of standard tactics.